The semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) industry has experienced rapid growth. In the course of IC evolution, functional density (i.e., the number of interconnected devices per chip area) has generally increased while geometry size (i.e., the smallest component (or line) that can be created using a fabrication process) has decreased. This scaling down process generally provides benefits by increasing production efficiency and lowering associated costs. However, such scaling down has also been accompanied by increased complexity in design and manufacturing of devices incorporating these ICs, and, for these advances to be realized, similar developments in device design are needed.
One class of IC devices includes switched circuit devices such as DC/DC voltage converters. Further improvements to this class of device have proven characteristically difficult to obtain. Particularly with regard to voltage converters, the ability to scale the IC components has been hampered by the requirement that the components must withstand relatively large voltages. Realities such as hot-carrier degradation and their effects on device performance and longevity must be considered. Therefore, while existing power converting devices have been generally adequate for their intended purposes, they have not been entirely satisfactory in every aspect.